Height-adjustable tables let a meeting move from sitting to standing, but the chairs usually stay where they were. The HighLow Chair from Swiss company Studiotools is built to close that gap. When the group gets up, the padded backrest tips forward into a leaning support, so no second piece of furniture is needed.
At first glance, the chair reads as playful rather than mechanical. A thick round seat and a bolster-like backrest sit on a slender black tubular-steel frame. Small casters sit under its four legs. There are no armrests, and the open sides let you sit sideways or astride.
Seating that doubles as something else is a theme worth exploring, and this Eunsu Lee Dual-Purpose Multifunctional Stool Design shows how one piece can serve two functions.
The chair was designed by Moritz Willm of Studiotools.
How the Conference Chair Backrest Works
The chair backrest design centers on a cylinder with more going on inside than its simple shape suggests. A plywood core has two supporting faces set at different angles. Softer foam covers the face used for sitting, and firmer foam covers the face used for leaning. Tipping the cylinder forward presents a different surface to the body, so one cushion does not have to handle two jobs.
Studiotools developed the joint in-house and milled it from tool steel. The mechanism is damped to reduce rattling. It moves directly, with no separate lever to release first. When a discussion turns into a standing workshop, the chair stays put beside the group.
The seat uses webbing beneath its upholstery to add some spring, rather than relying on foam alone. Four foam densities appear across the chair, including the two inside the backrest cylinder. Studiotools says the mix is meant to support different postures during longer sessions. It does not claim the chair is comfortable for an entire working day.
The upholstery softens the geometry. Camira’s Yoredale bouclé is available in 33 colors, from neutrals to saturated yellow, blue, and red. The fabric is a wool-rich blend with black yarn woven through it, which echoes the black frame without making the chair look like one material throughout.
Mobility matters even more than it does for a standard office chair, since this one is meant to follow a changing meeting. The casters have brakes, so the chair can be rolled closer to a colleague and held still when someone leans on the backrest. Depending on the version, two to four chairs can be stacked. That makes it easier to clear floor space for a group activity.
The chair works best when the room is set up for movement. Fixed rows for an hour of slides give the backrest little to do. It’s better suited to meetings where standing up or turning toward a colleague doesn’t feel like interrupting the proceedings.
Source: yankodesign.com
Frequently asked questions
How does the HighLow Chair backrest work when a group stands up?
When the group gets up, the padded backrest tips forward into a leaning support, so no second piece of furniture is needed. The cylinder backrest moves directly, with no separate lever to release first.
Why does the HighLow Chair backrest use two different foam types?
The backrest cylinder has softer foam on the face used for sitting and firmer foam on the face used for leaning. Tipping the cylinder forward presents a different surface to the body, so one cushion does not have to handle both jobs.
Who designed the HighLow Chair from Studiotools?
The chair was designed by Moritz Willm of Studiotools, a Swiss company.
Do the HighLow Chair’s casters have brakes?
Yes, the casters have brakes, so the chair can be rolled closer to a colleague and held still when someone leans on the backrest.
More in
Furniture
All Furniture
More like this
Dhruvisha Shah Designs Biotechnology-Inspired Chair with Modular Dragonfly Exoskeleton Support
Herman Miller's First Foray in Gamer-Friendly Furniture with Smart Details
Tomas Bata University Unveils Cutting-Edge Student Designs: From Interactive Websites to Ergonomic F...
